Siheyuan, integrating everything, cultivating the city

Li Xiangqian raised his head, his heart still couldn't calm down, but he didn't know why, something in his heart seemed to start to slowly loosen up. He looked at the old lady's calm appearance, and suddenly felt that such calmness might not be ruthless, but a more profound power. He didn't know if he could be as indifferent as the old lady, but at least he began to understand that some things really can't be changed by simple anger and revenge.

"You're right..." Li Xiangqian whispered, his tone becoming calmer, "I'm always too impulsive and want to change things right away, which often makes me lose my composure." He paused, his eyes a little confused, "But, waiting a while, can it really make everything better?"

The old lady smiled slightly, her eyes clear: "Time will give you the answers, all the answers."

Li Xiangqian barely slept that night, the emotions churning in his heart like a burning flame. He lay in bed, his heart full of guilt towards the old lady and dissatisfaction with his boss. He seemed to have listened to some of what the old lady said, but whenever he thought of his boss's hypocritical smile, he couldn't help but feel angry. The anger pressed on his chest like a huge rock, getting heavier and heavier, pressing tighter and tighter, until he felt like he was about to be crushed.

He knew that he could no longer sit back and do nothing. He gritted his teeth and decided to go to his boss to settle the matter. It seemed that only when he faced the man thoroughly could he understand what the old lady said. He could no longer tolerate the empty feeling of doing nothing, nor did he want to let those bad emotions entangle him anymore.

He got out of bed, straightened his clothes, put on his old leather shoes, and stepped on the ground with a dull sound. Li Xiangqian's heartbeat became faster and faster, and he felt uneasy, as if at that moment, he was heading towards an irreversible situation.

Walking out of the courtyard gate, the courtyard was surprisingly quiet, with a hint of morning freshness in the air, but this freshness did not seem to calm his anxiety. Li Xiangqian tightened his collar and walked towards the boss's shop with firm steps.

His mind was filled with the hypocritical words of his boss, and the disgusting smile on his face. Every time he thought of this, his blood boiled. He could almost imagine how the innocent look on his face when facing him would become even more hateful in front of him.

Walking into the familiar alley, he saw the owner's shop. The shabby signboard with almost faded words seemed to remind him that everything here had long lost its vitality. He quickened his pace, and the anger in his heart surged more fiercely. With every step, he felt his determination strengthened until the familiar door appeared before his eyes.

He stopped, took a deep breath, and said in a low voice: "Today, I must settle accounts with him."

When he pushed open the door, the store was filled with a stale smell. When the boss saw him, he looked up with his usual smile on his face, without a trace of nervousness in his eyes, as if Li Xiangqian came here just to say hello. That expression made Li Xiangqian's anger surge violently again.

"Mr. Li, what's the matter with you today?" The boss's voice was still gentle, as if this was just an ordinary transaction.

Li Xiangqian's eyes were fixed on his boss's face. He took a deep breath, trying to suppress his anger, but his voice was still low and could not be concealed: "You know why I came here."

The boss was slightly startled, then smiled and waved his hand, motioning Li Xiangqian to sit down: "What's the matter, let's sit down and have a good chat." His smile still had a hint of hypocrisy, that kind of artificial enthusiasm, as if he had already practiced it to perfection. Li Xiangqian did not sit down, but stared at him even more coldly.

"I didn't come to you to have a 'good chat' with you." Li Xiangqian's tone gradually became heavier, his eyes burning as he stared at his boss, "You used fake things to fool the old lady and treated her as a fool. Do you think you can get away with it forever?"

The boss's face changed slightly, and his smile faded a little, but he still remained calm: "Mr. Li, you misunderstood. We are operating according to market rules. Not every business can satisfy people." He avoided Li Xiangqian's gaze and raised a polite smile at the corner of his mouth, but the coldness in it was already revealed.

Li Xiangqian's anger flared up again, and he could hardly control himself. "Market rules? You can call it market rules just because you have fake goods?" His voice unconsciously rose, almost roaring, his anger overflowing from his words. "Do you think you can fool the old lady just because she's old and deaf? She's the victim of this market, don't you understand?"

The boss stood up and adjusted his collar behind him, but his eyes turned cold: "Mr. Li, don't forget, we are all doing business, and business can't always be as you wish. If you have to make a fuss to this extent because of some misunderstandings, I'm afraid it will be difficult for our relationship to continue." His tone was calm, and his words revealed an irrefutable majesty.

Li Xiangqian was stunned for a moment, and the uneasy emotion in his mind suddenly emerged. He suddenly realized that he seemed to have fallen into a trap set by his boss. His anger was impulsive, and as the old lady said, this blind emotion could not bring any practical solution. He didn't know how to continue, nor did he know how to face the boss in front of him and the anger in his heart that he had no way to vent.

"Do you think you can evade responsibility?" Li Xiangqian's tone began to soften, but the anger in his heart did not dissipate. "Don't you think you have gone too far?"

The boss sneered, turned around and walked to the counter, took out a piece of paper and handed it to Li Xiangqian: "This is the voucher of the last transaction, see if there is any problem. If you want to make trouble for me, get the facts first."

Li Xiangqian took the paper and looked at it carefully. There were a bunch of clauses and items on the paper, and there seemed to be no problem. But when he looked away from the paper, the resentment and anger in his heart did not dissipate, but deepened. Every word and every clause on the paper reminded him that this world is not simply about "right" and "wrong", but more about how people find their foothold in the rules.

The paper in his hand seemed to become heavier, as if it was locked by invisible shackles. He took a deep breath, put the note back on the table, and whispered, "You won't always be so lucky." After saying this, he turned and walked out of the store. Behind him came the boss's indifferent voice: "That's your business, Mr. Li."